Queensland faces cyclone threat as flood recovery begins

2 months ago 6

North-west Queensland faces the prospect of a double-barrel disaster as floodwaters recede and a tropical low in the Coral Sea threatens to develop into a cyclone.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a “moderate” chance that a tropical low in the Coral Sea will develop into a cyclone by Friday.

“The longer-term movement of [the low] remains uncertain, but the system is likely to begin moving west towards the far north Queensland coast over the weekend, increasing rain and winds,” the bureau said on Tuesday afternoon.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell and Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers at a damaged Cloncurry Airport.

Flooding from monsoon conditions over the past week has cut off towns and claimed an estimated 16,500 cattle in a region economically dependent on agriculture.

With soil already saturated in parts of north-west Queensland, outback communities faced the prospect of further flooding if a new cyclone were to approach the coast.

Speaking on the flood-damaged runway at Cloncurry Airport, where he announced a $38 million disaster recovery package, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would continue to monitor the system.

The prime minister met emergency services personnel on his visit to Cloncurry.

“We’re very worried,” he said. “The fact is that we are seeing more frequent natural disasters and more intensity in them.”

The package, jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland governments, included $21.5 million in grants for primary producers – up to $75,000 each for impacted farmers in Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Croydon, Flinders, McKinlay, Richmond and Winton shires, with $10,000 available immediately.

A further $11.5 million was allocated for repairs and flood resilience upgrades at Cloncurry Airport, and there was a $5 million boost to the emergency fodder program, taking the total to $7 million.

“There will, of course, be more to do,” Albanese said.

“What today is about is providing that immediate support so that this community can get back on its feet as soon as possible as a matter of urgency.”

The prime minister, usually a regular guest at the McGrath Foundation’s high tea on day three of the Sydney Test, appeared on Tuesday in Cloncurry instead of the high-profile fundraising event, and made the announcement alongside Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain and Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell.

Campbell said a year’s worth of rain had fallen on his community in two or three days, with between 400 and 800 millimetres since Christmas Day.

“This [airport] is one example of how extreme that damage has been,” he said.

“We’re still seeing the damage on cattle stations unfold as the floodwaters recede … and then all that water drains into our northern neighbours of Carpentaria, Doomadgee and Bourke Shires.”

He said flooded roads meant his town was isolated from Townsville and Brisbane.

“The community of Julia Creek, McKinley, and those northern communities, are probably isolated for weeks to come, if not a month or more,” he added.

“Some of that is a wet season in north-west Queensland, but the amount of rain that we’ve had has actually made this an event that is nationally significant.”

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